Problems with Premiere Elements 8 after updating to Nvidia driver 195.81 or later?

[Chad Baker]

Hello PRE8 users,

If you have an Nvidia-based graphics chipset, and you've updated to Nvidia driver version 195.81 or later and you're still experiencing frequent crashes and freezes in Premiere Elements 8, then we'd like to hear from you in this thread. As mentioned in the announcement at the top of this forum, we believe most of these issues are caused by a problem with an Nvidia driver that was released after PRE8 was developed, and that the issues should be resolved by updating to Nvidia driver version 195.81 or later. Notes from the announcement I mentioned above are copied below for your reference.

Best regards,

Chad

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For Nvidia users, there is a driver update that will fix both of the following issues:

• Premiere Elements 8 does not restart after closing on Windows
• Frequent and inexplicable crashes with Premiere Elements 8
  

To resolve these issues, you should update your GPU (graphics card) driver to version 195.81 or higher, by following the steps below.

1.      Identify which GPU driver you have by right clicking on the Desktop > Properties > Settings and in the Display field it will be displayed.

2.      Go to http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and download driver for your GPU card. Its size varies from 80 to 120MB depending upon the GPU card model.

3.      After the download is complete, run the driver install Installation. This should take less than 2 minutes.

There are no known issues that the latest driver update will cause.

This is an announcement. There is a separate discussion topic located here.

***If the update steps shown above do not upgrade your system to version 195.81 or higher, then you may need to download the driver directly. Use the link below only if the steps above do not update your driver to 195.81 or higher. The download page for Vista and Windows 7 is located here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_32bit_195.81_beta.html

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_64bit_195.81_beta.html

[the_wine_snob]

I would strongly recommend that you file a Bug Report, and be very specific about your equipment, your Project and Assets, and what you are doing, when you encounter the errors. Adobe reads these and then sends them to the lab to replicate the error. When they can, they work on getting things sorted out. Now, it might be in a second update for PrE 8, or maybe not until PrE 9, but Adobe does act on these.

Good luck,

Hunt

[DRC_40]

Thanks Bill. There is no way they can wait till 9.0. I suspect this is a serious coding problem and will require much more work on the Nvidia compatibility. There is no way you should have to disable GPU playback with a 9 series Nvidia card. Never mind the crashes but that one bug should be enough to keep the Premiere team burning the midnight oil.

I submitted the following report.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Equipment:

Intel Dual Core 3.16
4GB Corsair Ram
150 GB Velociraptor 10,000rpm Hard Drive
Nvidia 9800 GTX+ 512 Ram
Gigabyte Ga-EP45-UD3P Motherboard

All hardware is updated with latest bios and drivers.

Operating System:

Windows XP - SP3 - 32bit
OS Completely patched and updated
Graphic Card updated to latest drivers
System was reformatted 6 days ago
defragged and operating normally.

Software: Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0.1

Files working with:

DV-AVI captured from a SONY DCR-HC52 Handycam via Firewire.

Problems:

1) "Display will be poor due to incorrectly operating graphics card"

Have to uncheck the GPU button to eliminate this error. Just loading an existing project without doing any tasks causes the red X in the bottom left hand corner to appear immediately.

2) System crashes and freezes. One windows error has appeared twice since the update to 8.0.1.

Premiere Elements has encountered an error
[..\..Src\PathUtils.cpp-190]

No other windows errors reported but software just freezes or the program ends without notice. When software freezes I must use windows task manager to end program and re-boot.

Activities when crashes/errors occur:

Various -  Inserting transitions, using Smart Trim, previewing clips from organizer in monitor mode, previewing clips from the preview window.

[DRC_40]

Im not about to give up on this software so conceding the fact my system could be playing a roll in the post update crashes I decided to completely reformat and start over.

So far:

Fresh XP-SP3 with all the updates and patches. Only installed minimal required hardware drivers like MB chip set, video, etc. Once everything was updated and patched I defragged. Then installed both Photoshop & Premeire Elements the content DVD and Acrobat. Defragged again. Opened Premiere and immediately got the red x error in the bottom left hand corner. Unchecked GPU and cleared error dialog box. Tried capturing DV from camcorder and got a driver error. Tried capturing from Windows MM and got error about no audio device. I hadnt installed my audio interfacing while trying to keep things minimal. After installing my M-Audio Fast Track Pro the capture worked fine. Note to everyone, capture will not work without a sound device.

I created a quick movie with the capture DV-AVI and added a few transitions and some effects. Its currently rendering for upload to photshop.com. I am not posting from that machine. No crashes or errors yet. I will put it through some heavier work and testing before installing the rest of my software. Will report back in this thread.

[DRC_40]

Update on my personal situation.

There is no question PE8 is working better. I am able to get through quite a bit of a project but unfortunately there are still intermittent freezes and crashes. There is no consistent action that produces them either which is quite frustrating. Sometimes its while applying transitions, sometimes its importing files, sometimes its working with audio, etc. The GPU error is still present and the box must be unchecked or you will get that red X in the bottom left hand corner.

I have the leanest machine possible. I have nothing but Windows, Elements, Acrobat and esential hardware drivers. I am going to start adding back my other software and after each instances see if it has any effect. I am hopeful another update will be forthcoming because 8.0.1 has not solved all the problems.

[the_wine_snob]

I am going to start adding back my other software and after each instances see if it has any effect. I am hopeful another update will be forthcoming because 8.0.1 has not solved all the problems.

Though many programs' installers will write System Restore Points, I find it very useful to do these manually, before each installation - just in case.

Also, remember that many programs' installers will often place "helper," "sniffer," "watcher" and other small applications, outside of their main program code. Most of these will be set to load at boot-up, to do specialized tasks. I find many of these to be resource hogs, and totally unnecessary. I rely on the tips in this ARTICLE to keep things "clean, lean and mean." Just something to keep in mind and an eye on, as you install the other programs.

Good luck,

Hunt

[DRC_40]

Thanks for the tips. I have read that post before about msconfig adjustments and processes. Was very familiar with the interface anyway and have no problems making sure bloatware and self updating programs are not left residing after an install. This machine is pretty lean anyway. Its not my main working machine. Nothing on it but Windows and some audio programs like Sonar. If any platform would work well with PE8 it would be this one. I dont even run A/V on it.

[the_wine_snob]

DRC_40,

You are way ahead of most users, who have all sorts of "stuff" loaded. If you have things that lean, the only help that I can offer would be with the Page File. I like to have it staticly sized, to around 1.5 to 2.5x installed RAM, so that it is always set at boot, and so that the OS does not have to dynamically manage it, per needs. That, and multiple, physical (very important) HDD's, allocated to "spread the load."

Good luck,

Hunt

[AdelaidePeter]

[nealeh]

You should initially follow the request in the dialog box and update your driver (current version is196.75 WHQL).  If that doesn't work please open a new discussion - this one is meant to gather information for Adobe only.

When opening a new discussion please give as much detail as possible about your system and footage - check Got a problem? Here's how best to ask for help. This link is to 'Announcements', you may need to click through them to find the "Got a problem! announcement.

Cheers,
--
Neale
Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your children

[caumann2]

Just upgraded the video card to an Nvidia Geforce GTS 250, driver version 196.75.  Had the problems with occaisional crashes, and there was the little red x in the bottom left of the screen saying the driver or graphics card were malfunctioning.  Have turned off GPU, and it seems more stable - for now.

[DRC_40]

caumann2 wrote:

Just upgraded the video card to an Nvidia Geforce GTS 250, driver version 196.75.  Had the problems with occaisional crashes, and there was the little red x in the bottom left of the screen saying the driver or graphics card were malfunctioning.  Have turned off GPU, and it seems more stable - for now.

Interesting that you have the same red x that I do because your GTS 250 is basically the same as my 9800 GTX+. These are sister cards and the 512MB version of the 250 is essentially identical to the 9800 GTX+ and we both have to disable GPU playback. Would you also happen to be running a dual core processor?

It would be interesting to know if any Nvidia users with these series of cards are able to use the GPU playback feature.

[caumann2]

My machine is a Dell Precision 380. Pentium processor EE 840, 3.2 Ghz, Dual Core, 2X1 MB L2 Chace, 800 Mhz.  4 GB of Memory.

Cheers!

Craig

[DRC_40]

caumann2 wrote:

3.2 Ghz, Dual Core

Cheers!

Craig

I suspect everyone with a dual core "AND" 9 series Nvidea (or their sister cards) are unable to use GPU acceleration. The combination seems to be toxic for this feature. The fact Adobe suggests you disable Threaded Optimization is a big hint the issue is related to multi-core (maybe even only dual core) processors in combination with these cards. I also suspect Adobe will have a difficult time solving the problem. I doubt it is driver related (although previous instability and crashes probably where) and is probably a hard coding issue in Elements itself. Not having GPU enabled strips the program of some important features. I can probably live without it because its not mission critical but I think Adobe should be making every effort to resolve GPU use for what has to be a decent percentage of its PrE customers. 

[caumann2]

Hmm.  Guess I should have gone to an ATI card.

Mind you, the "ReadMe.html" file does say:

Minimum System Requirements 2GHz processor with SSE2 support; 3GHz processor required for HDV or Blu-ray; dual-core processor required for AVCHD

So, hell, my system in theory should be fine.

[hfgerena1]

Hi;

After many test I decide to do something different. I try to made an Instant Movie from PSE8 with just 23 photos and boom, PE Crash....

Not only once but twice in a row.

Well, I decided not to waste more time on this. From now my efforts are dedicated in searching for another Video Editing Software, I will keep doing my Slideshow with PHOTODEX and I'll not even consider to get the bundle again. So PE8 was my last version of PE, and when I get my new Video Editing Software I will do the Unistall, hum.. maybe I'll do it now !!!.

Sorry Adobe, you loose a PE Customer. I give up. I sound frustrated, yes I should. This is my third version of PE; 4,6,8. And did not experience any problems before. I cannot work with a product with my fingers, arms and legs crossed for good luck, hopping not to have a crash after crash.

[Steve Grisetti]

This thread is now locked. If you'd like to post a question or commment, please start a new thread. Thank you.